Cheers for the info Decorator, sounds like I need to put east coast Oz on the travel list and when I make my way out there I may indeed DM you for some travel tips! Windy as hell here at the mo and the sea's a stormy mess, definitely conditions to get you thinking about sunnier climes!

I'll shamelessly self promote here as well - started a little blog a few weeks back to log sessions and share pics - take a look when you get 5 http://dragonhilldiaries.tumblr.com/

^^^^ Likewise with Decorator, I haven't been to California so can't make the comparison. He sums it up pretty well; great lifestyle, great food, laid back, stress free, perfect climate. Just an easy going spot. I couldn't get over how open and friendly people were when I first arrived; big change from N.Ireland. Every other sunday theres a free live gig on in our little town.... just a stroll down the beach from our house!

After researching a couple of years it ticked all the boxes for me. Its just very expensive getting set up initially with the strong Aussie dollar. Lots to explore in the surrounding area too; nothing like getting a pair of trail runners on and heading into the Hinterland wilderness. The great barrier reef is also only 4 hours drive north as well.

If you like outdoor and adventure you'll love it

Surf might not be quite as good as S. California. I do miss those reeling lefts on the west coast of Ireland too. Still, its never crowded here and the water is aqua marine, crystal clear, and warm enough for boardshorts 3/4 of the year.

I'd broken my toe the day before and tried paddling out and just got smashed on the shorey. My partner thought I was nuts. I was hopping down to the beach on one leg....."what the f**K, you can't even walk never mind surf". So perfect there was no way I couldn t try. I just sat on the balcony all day in silence watching flawless spitting barrels. 17KM beach with hardly anyone out???? Pretty gutted I missed out. And to add insult to injury the usual sea breeze didn't come up and it stayed offshore all day!

That big storm has left some nice banks though. Just got back out today and had some sick bazzas

Aye took a paddle over with Decorator once...had the Jaws them on repeat the whole way Lovely wave that just grows down the line, but didn't get it any near its full potential. I'm sure last saturday a few of the boys would have been out.

Its usually busy so when the swells about so I tend to opt for the beachies

I'd broken my toe the day before and tried paddling out and just got smashed on the shorey. My partner thought I was nuts. I was hopping down to the beach on one leg....."what the f**K, you can't even walk never mind surf". So perfect there was no way I couldn t try. I just sat on the balcony all day in silence watching flawless spitting barrels. 17KM beach with hardly anyone out???? Pretty gutted I missed out. And to add insult to injury the usual sea breeze didn't come up and it stayed offshore all day!

That big storm has left some nice banks though. Just got back out today and had some sick bazzas

Is that Sunny Beach or Moolooloo? Thought you lived at Mooloo/Maroochydore.

Nice to hear the beachies still stay quiet... When I was there (14 years ago this February) the points would get chockas, but the beaches were empty and really good fun.

Yeah that's Sunshine Beach area...I'm in North Peregian which is about 3/4 up that stretch of sand from Coolum to Noosa.You have Coolum-Peregian-Castaways-Sunrise-Sunshine then Noosa. Its all one big beach with peaks up and down, and the backdrop is just coastal heath and a few houses....no big development. And empty!

Yeah the points get pretty nuts...took me a while to adjust to the crowds. I thought there were crowds in ireland but here its like sometimes you only get 1-2 waves the whole session! Its a social affair

They using the pictures as well? And is there image size/resolution issues for the mag if they want to use the pictures?

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers Poo,

Yeah there's definitely alot more stories to come from this trip. I've got a heap of word folders that need tinkering.

They used about 8 pictures but no issues with res. I'm not too savvy on all that photo stuff but the pics they used were taken with the same camera as the ones on the blog a Canon Ixus 4mp !! I took the shots down to the mag when I went and met the Ed. They look great in print so maybe some magic used... I don't know!

I emailed Gra Murdoch the Editor, Issue one of the mag (it's a quarterly with very little adevertising (when I say very little.. back cover and inside front and back cover only) and masses of content) The general vibe was something that I knew the story would fit in with. I actually sent him the piece that won the Carve comp (joke) and an introduction piece along with a few shots and he invited me down for a chat then encouraged me to write some more about the whole trip. He offered to pay me!

Poo Stance wrote:Cool. Thanks for that. Looking forward to hearing more. We drove the Gibb in a '77 rear wheel drive datson 120y. The car drank more water than us.

Did you drive to Mitchell Falls off the Gibb? Thats the one place I regret not visiting in Oz, but from the stories we heard there was no way our car or us would make it there and back alive.

Here's us tackling the Pentacost, thankfully it hadn't rained in a while.

rsz_img_1701_pentacost.jpg

Unreal! The locals in Kununarra tried scaring us to death with tales of the Gibb river road, we ended up dissapointed but in that Datsun it would have been a blast! Yep we drove up to the falls, still very pedestrian but heading further North to Kulumburu was more of a challenge especialy when it started raining!

I never get tired of looking at the Mitchell falls. It's like the perfect combo of big falls, pools and steps. All perfectly arranged to show off each aspect. If there's one reason to go back to Oz, other than the points, they are it for me.

The story of the Datson is one I been wanting to write for a few years now. But its such a long incident packed story it's daunting. On the Gibb alone our car had so many issues...

The battery fell onto the fan gouging a massive hole in it that emptied one of it's cells. The alternator seized and snapped the fan belt. So no more charging of the holey battery. We made a belt from shoelace to keep the fan running so we didn't overheat.

Every time we went through one of the fords/rivers we would get water under the distributor cap. Which meant the car cut out a few seconds after clearing the crossing. After about the 4th time we figured it out somehow and could dry it quicker. The times before we just waited and hoped the car would start again (like it had magically done a few times already between Margs and Derby, just N of the Gibb).

Then there was the time one of the hoses in the cab rotted through pissing hot water from the engine over my mates feet while he was driving, who promptly jumped out the moving car. Luckily a motorbiker (who was not loving the corrugated road) stopped and had a tool set so we managed to re-plum the engine to bypass the internal cab heater. But that meant we couldn't cool the engine by having the heater blowing in the cab while driving though the desert in scorching heat.

Some time after we had refuelled at the only petrol station, half way along the Gibb River Road, our exhaust broke at the midsection. Somehow it managed to u-bend its way around the rear axle and, in doing so preventing us from driving either forwards or backwards. In order to get it free I had to try and lift the car while my mate managed to unbend it enough to wriggle it off. By the time we managed that it was dark so we camped up by the side of the road.

The sound of those road trains coming towards you in the dark as you lay in your tent is something I won't forget easily. When they're passing ten meters from your head it's a proper mind fuck.

The next day we used twine to tie up the dragging remaining section of the exhaust. But every few minutes it would burn through. By the 3rd re-twine we were passed by some aboriginals going the other way. About 7 in the car and 4 sitting on top and on the bonnet. They gave us a wire coat hanger and we were rocking again.

But the big problem was the Pentecost River. Everyone told us we wouldn't be able to cross it in the Datsun.

Due to how much fuel we could carry we figured that if the river wasn't passable we wouldn't have enough to make it back to the petrol station. Added to that we now had the exhaust under the car. Which, being an automatic was prone to popping out of gear if hit from underneath by sand/mud banks. If it did pop out of gear we would more than likely stall, consequently flooding and wrecking the engine and leaving us stranded in the middle of a river.

The gear actually popped out doing the crossing but thankfully my mate kept the gas floored and crunched it back in. At that point the car was stationary in the middle of the river. Which is the next pic from the one above. I thought we were a cropper watching from the bank. My mate and I both danced a jig on either side of the river when he'd made it over. All the doubts about being able to make the crossing were released in an instant.

After that we parked up at the Emma Gorge and shared a bottle of wine listening to Wales spank England at rugby by 40 odd points. After which we snuck into one of the $135pn swanky tents and slept in a bed for the 1st time in months. I don't think I slept at all I was so used to sleeping feral by then.

It certainly was an adventure and the Datsun sure made it so much more of one. A $300 car which the previous owner told us not to try and drive to Perth from Margs where we bought it.